Flooding closed several roads in Washington, Greene counties
A pickup truck is submerged Wednesday afternoon on Route 21 at the Route 18 split, where the creek flooded the busy intersection in Center Township. The road was closed and emergency crews were directing traffic.
Heavy rain Wednesday touched off flooding that hit this park in South Franklin Township.
Melissa Smoody stands on the front porch of her home, surrounded by rising water, at Tarbuck trailer court in South Franklin Township on Wednesday. Heavy rains sparked flooding across the area.
A driver navigates through high water on Route 18 near W&J stadium in Washington on Wednesday.
A car, parked in the yard of a Jefferson Road residence in Franklin Township, was submerged in water as Ten Mile Creek flooded multiple roads and properties Wednesday afternoon. No one was in the vehicle.
Heavy rain Wednesday morning caused creeks to spill their banks, closing several roads in Greene and Washington counties and submerging cars.
Waynesburg-Franklin volunteer firefighters responded about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday to the report of a car submerged in the creek near Jefferson Road in Franklin Township. Fire Chief Jeff Marshall said the car was parked in the yard of a residence and the creek flooded around it, but no one was in the vehicle at the time. He said someone driving past saw the car under water and reported it to 911.
It was one of several vehicles to get stuck in flood waters when an unusual springlike series of thunderstorms moved into the region. Some areas got as much as 2 inches of rain, said Chris Leonardi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. The storms prompted the weather service to issue a tornado warning for all of Greene County and the southern portion of Washington County. Meteorologists noticed a very quick rotation in the storm pattern over Greene County, but there was no indication a tornado touched down, Leonardi said.
Parts of the Ten Mile Creek flooded roads and properties across Greene County. Route 21 at the Route 18 split in Center Township was closed for most of the day as the entire intersection was under water. Two vehicles, including a pickup truck, got stuck in the middle of the intersection and emergency crews directed traffic around the area.
Most of the flood damage happened in the western part of Greene County around Rogersville where Stone Hill Road was nearly completely submerged with the rushing water reaching the base of houses. Parts of Route 21 in West Waynesburg were flooded near Waynesburg University’s softball diamonds.
Greene County Emergency Services Director Greg Leathers said there were some flooding problems that closed several roads in the western part of the county – “the usual suspects” – during the heavy rain in the morning. He added there also was “some basement flooding” at homes in that area, but no major water or wind damage in the county.
The rain caused many small streams to spill their banks and flow over roads, closing many of them across Washington County and temporarily stranding some residents in their mobile homes in South Franklin Township until the water began to recede Wednesday afternoon.
Melissa Smoody of Tarbuck Lane, who lives in the mobile home park off Route 18, said the flooding there worsened by late morning.
“The water is raging around my trailer,” Smoody said about noon. “This area has a tendency to flood. I have lived here a year, and this is the third time it has flooded.”
She said the water was up to the doors on two vehicles owned by her neighbors.
A member of South Franklin Volunteer Fire Department said the water didn’t enter any of the mobile homes, and that the creek was receding at 1:40 p.m. The fire department left at that time after telling residents to wait out the flooding.
Minor flooding also was reported at South Main Street and Park Avenue in Washington.
Leonardi said February was the fourth warmest in history, with the other warmest Februaries being in the 1800s.
“It’s been a long time since it’s been this warm in Pittsburgh,” he said.
The jetstream brought the warm weather pattern into the area and “set off these strong thunderstorms,” Leonardi said.
Snow showers are expected to move into the region early today, he added.
Staff writer Kathie O. Warco contributed to this report.